Within the last 3 years I’ve gone through a ton of life changes – I finally graduated from my PhD and started a full-time job, got married, moved out of my parent’s home and into our own, and became a mother. With each new change came a ton of adjustments and I’ve been trying to figure out how best to go about my days to make sure I am the most efficient, productive, and overall happiest version of myself. Since I had Mia and have been home on maternity leave, I’ve found 6 habits that have changed my life and made such a huge difference in my days. These are all super simple habits that I started to implement over the past few months, but they’ve collectively made such a BIG difference in how smoothly and efficiently my days run and have also helped me to focus on joy and positivity each day. So in today’s post I’m sharing 6 habits that will change your life as they’ve changed mine.
Establish a morning routine
This is a HUGE one for me y’all. If you’ve been following me for a while then you know that I am by no means a morning person, like at all. BUT, becoming a mom meant I was forced to become a morning person because I couldn’t be half asleep while caring for a tiny human. Enter my morning routine. I use the term routine loosely, because well mom life. BUT, I do have specific things that I do each morning that help me to get energized and ready to take on the day. My body has gotten so used to having that routine that I actually feel tired and a bit out of whack if I miss any of my steps. Routines are amazing and really help to set you up for a great day ahead.
Plan ahead
There is nothing worse than starting a day where you have a ton of stuff to get done and no game plan in mind. You end up wasting a ton of time rather than being efficient. I like to start my week by taking an hour or so each Sunday to plan out my week – meetings, social media content (for my blog pages), meal plans, etc. The more you have planned ahead of time, the less time you spend each day scrambling to think of what needs to get done. This makes such a huge difference for me because it takes the guess work out of each day and really allows me to be as efficient as possible.
Schedule down time
I used to do this a lot before becoming a mom and I’ve recently started to do it again because it’s so important. Scheduling down time for yourself – whether you use it to watch TV, do your nails, take a hot bath, or just hang out and have a glass of wine – is SO GOOD for your mental health and gives you a chance to rest and rejuvenate. As much as I love being a mom and spending time with Mia, sometimes I just need a break away from mommy duty to spend on myself and to do things that I enjoy.
Practice gratitude
This is one of those things that I absolutely love to do and as an added bonus it helps to remind us that there is so much goodness in our lives. It’s easy to fall into the trap of seeing all the negative things happening in our world, so taking time to practice gratitude each day can make a huge difference in your outlook and mindset. I try to reflect and think of 3 things each day that I’m grateful for. It’s one of those feel good habits that we all need to practice and it makes a great addition to your nighttime routine to help reflect on the day.
Make your bed
I’m a tad bit embarrassed to admit that I lived 30 years of my life without getting into the habit of making my bed each morning. BUT, I’ve been doing it every single day for the past 6 months or so and OH EM GEE it feels soo freaking good! On the one hand the look of a freshly made bed and a clean room just feels good in general, and on the other hand it feels like you’ve already accomplished something first thing in the morning which helps set you up for productivity throughout the rest of the day.
Tidy up your living space every day
In the past few months I’ve also gotten into the habit of tidying up our entire living space – kitchen, dining room, living room, and bedroom every single evening before bed. When you do it every single day it takes no time at all, and It helps to prevent any messes from piling up and it feels so GOOD to wake up to a perfectly clean home in the morning! That alone helps to put me in a better mood each morning and let me tell you, a good morning mood = a great day!
As you can see, each of these habits are super simple and take relatively little to no time at all to accomplish, yet when put them all together they can make a huge difference in your daily life. Not only do they help put you on a path of efficiency and productivity, but they also help you to focus on the good and put you in a positive mindset. I’d love to know what other habits you do that have changed your life. Let me know in the comments.
Cheers,
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